Help Raise Awareness and Practicing of Neuro-Nurturing so Infants and Children Thrive

During the prenatal stage and for the first few months and years, a baby’s brain is going through an amazing amount of growth as connections between the billions of neurons in their brain get developed, strengthened, and pruned.  There are many factors that impact how these young brains develop, and the “wiring” that emerges from those first few months and years has a major impact on the health, language skills, relationships, and the quality of the rest of their lives.

The term Neuro-Nurturing refers to the many things that parents and caregivers can do to support the optimal development of the brain in those early months and years.

The Minnesota Twins are champions in their support for improving communities in our state.  The Neuro-Nurturing Night with the Minnesota Twins on September 17th is one way they are supporting improved teamwork among many different organizations that help expecting and new parents gain the understanding and support that will help them nurture the brain development of their infants and toddlers.

No one organization can provide the full scope of education and support that will ensure that all children benefit from good Neuro-Nurturing.  It takes an ecosystem of organizations each leveraging their different strengths and relationships to support parents, caregivers, and early childhood educators.

By bringing many nonprofit and other organizations together to learn about their strengths and services, this special night of baseball and conversations will help many different organizations gain new insights on how they can build on each other’s strengths to achieve greater impact for more families.

What is Neuro-Nurturing?

The term Neuro-Nurturing has been popularized by long-time early childhood brain expert, Deborah McNelis.  It is not a specific program, but rather a term that refers to a rich set of practices and factors that parents and other caregivers can learn about and use to enhance early brain development.  It includes what the American Academy of Pediatrics calls “Early Relational Health,” which involves things like secure attachment and being responsive to a baby’s needs.  It also includes the importance of singing, talking, and playing with a baby, as well as physical factors like sleep, nutrition, and hydration.

Learn more about Neuro-Nurturing on Deborah’s website.

Minnesota’s Emerging Neuro-Nurturing Ecosystem

In spite of having an abundance of resources for pregnant women and new parents, far too many infants and toddlers are not benefiting from the Neuro-Nurturing that would help them flourish as children, students and adults.  When organizations operate in “silos” and well-intentioned efforts are fragmented, many opportunities for efficiency are missed, and parents of many infants fall through the cracks.

Developing an ecosystem requires building relationships among organizations, engaging funders in new ways, and co-creating a strategic framework around which many efforts can be aligned for greater impact.

As part of participating in the night with the Minnesota Twins, dozens of organizations are participating in Zoom meetings and identifying ways that they can work together.

How YOU and Other Organizations can Provide “Assists” to Improve Outcomes

In sports like hockey and basketball, many players help their team win by providing “assists.”  Even if they are not scoring the points, they play a valuable role by helping other players score points.  Many organizations and individuals in our community that may not see a direct way they can improve Neuro-Nurturing can provide valuable assists to strengthen the efforts of others who are working on a community-wide strategy to improve Neuro-Nurturing.  

The organizations are working to make this Neuro-Nurturing Ecosystem a success in Minnesota.  Please learn about their important work and consider how you might provide assists to improve their impact.

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